Officially the Argentine Republic, the country of Argentina is a federal republic currently headed by President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner which covers almost 2.8 million kilometres squared and is home to over 41 million inhabitants.

The country’s capital is Buenos Aires and the country shares borders with Paraguay and Bolivia to the north, Chile to the west, Uruguay to the east and Brazil to the northeast. It’s also surrounded by the South Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Drake Passage to the south.

Stone Age History

The very earliest evidence of human activity in Argentina was found in the Piedra Museo in Santa Cruz which has been dated to be around 13,000 years old. In addition, the Cueva de Las Manos, also in Santa Cruz, has been dated to be around 12,000 years old.

Bronze Age History

Between 4,000 and 2,000 BC, huge amounts of the country’s indigenous population died out due to an extensive dry season.

Iron Age History

By 1,000 BC, the population had re-diversified and many indigenous peoples existed. Among these were the hunter-gatherers Selknam, Yaghan, Puelche, Querand, Serranos, Tehuelche, Kom and Wichi, the agricultural peoples Charrua, Minuane. Guarani, Toconote, Henia, Kamiare and the Huarpe, trading peoples Diaguita and the warring groups such as the Mapuche (originally from Chile) and the Inca.

1st Century – 15th Century History

The groups thrived for over two thousand years until the Inca conquered much of Argentina. At the same time, other tribes such as the Guaranies had developed and taken over large areas of the country, while the Toba nation, a conglomeration of the Diaguita, the Quilmes and the Calchaqui occupied the northern borders and the Comechingones occupied today’s Cordoba.

16th Century – 19th Century History

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to land in the region, specifically Goncalo Coelho and Amerigo Vespucci in 1502. Ten years later, Joao de Lisboa and Estevao de Frois discovered the Rio de La Plata and began to travel along its estuary, eventually culminating with first contact with the Charrua people, natives of the country. Four years later the Spanish arrived on the shores of Argentina and established a small settlement in 1536 where modern-day Buenos Aires is located. However, the settlement was abandoned in 1541. Cordoba saw its establishment in 1573 and Buenos Aires saw a second, successful establishment in 1580. These cities rapidly fell under the control of the Viceroyalty of Peru, which had been set up under Blasco Nunez Vela in order to help keep control over Spain’s overseas territories in the absence of King Charles I of Spain. However, Francisco de Toledo rapidly ascended into power and took the role of Viceroy.

However, the region developed slowly in comparison to some of the other nearby nations, this was largely in part due to a lack of precious metals making the land undesirable and gold rushes sporadic, if at all. The region eventually had a large resurgence in activity when the Spanish established the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata in 1776 made up from a combination of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia. Potosi became a commercial centre in the Viceroyalty due to widespread production of cattle and subsequent exportation of leather, increased maritime activity and various other political reasons.

However, despite the success of the Viceroyalty, cooperation between the regions rapidly unravelled and lack of Spanish support caused it to gradually crack apart. Following the defeat of the Spanish at the Battle of Trafalgar, the British took uncontested maritime supremacy and even tried to invade both Buenos Aires and Montevideo in 1806 and 1807 respectively. Luckily they were forced out of the area by Viceroy and Count Santiago de Liniers of Buenos Aires. Liniers won widespread popularity for his acts of defiance against the British and was elected as the Viceroy on his heroic deeds. However, despite being popular among the Spanish born in Argentina, the Criollos, he was not so popular among the upper class Peninsulars such as Montevideo Governor Francisco Javier de Elio and Merchant Martin de Alzaga. The former created the Junta of Montevideo giving the region the right to ignore any orders from Buenos Aires, meanwhile the latter attempted a mutiny to remove Liniers from power but the mutiny was unsuccessful and the military bodies involved were forcibly disarmed in 1809.

However, the Supreme Central Junta replaced Liniers with Naval Offier Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros in the same year and upon accepting the authority of Cisneros as Viceroy, Javier de Elio disbanded the Junta of Montevideo. Additionally, Cisneros renarmed the mutinying parties from several months prior and pardoned all those responsible for the mutiny, reducing Alzaga’s sentence to simple house arrest. Meanwhile across the country, Juan Antonio Alvarez de Arenales deposed the governor of Chuquisaca and the Governor of La Paz was similarly ousted by Colonel Pedro Domingo Murillo. However, the Spanish militaries’ forces from Buenos Aires and Lima vastly outnumbered and overpowered these rebel factions and drove them out of the cities, retaking them with ease. However, the beheadings of the leaders of the rebel factions contrasted sharply with the pardons of sentences due to earlier mutiny attempts by other parties and subsequently the resentment between the upper and lower classes deepened. Eventually, this resentment sparked a revolution and forced talks between governing bodies, in turn forcing the resignation of Cisneros and the appointment of a new junta: the Primera Junta.

The Supreme Central Junta abolished itself in 1810 along with the events of the May Revolution and the Primera Junta became the main governing body for Buenos Aires, but before long this was replaced by the Junta Grande which ruled over the entirety of the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata. However, this in turn was replaced by the First Triumvirate the following year, of which it ruled over the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata. However, once again the actions of the Triumvirate’s members were limited by repeated struggles for power and eventually it was replaced by the Second Triumvirate in 1812. A year later, the Assembly of Year XIII was called that was expected to write up a constitution and declare independence, but neither occurred and instead the triumvirate was replaced with a head of state office, the Supreme Director.

At the same time as these repeated revolutions had occurred, France and Spain had been at war and upon the ending of the Pensinsular War, many generals transferred overseas from Spain to Argentina to give new strength to the Revolutionary war. One of the generals, Jose de San Martin, took control of Mendoza and created the Army of the Andes, marching into Chile over the Andes and liberating the country from Spanish rule before doing the same with Peru. Following these actions, the Congress of Tucuman was called and Argentina declared itself as independent under the name Argentine in 1816. However, it would be almost a decade before the United Kingdom recognized the country’s independence, which it did upon the signing of a Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation in 1825, however, despite these recognitions the country still was not recognized as independent by Spain until several decades later.

However, the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata continued to exist and upon the defeat of the Spanish the nation lost their head of state, causing successive power struggles and various civil wars. At the same time, the Unitarian defeat at the Battle of Cepeda ended the authority of the Supreme Director’s regime as well as the 1819 constitution.

In 1826, another attempt at writing a constitution was made which would instate Bernardino Rivadavia as the President of Argentina, but it found widespread rejection and was a scrapped, largely in part due to Rivadavia’s poor management of the Cisplatine War which in turn caused his resignation.

Through the power vacuum, the Governors of Buenos Aires received the governing authority to manage the country’s international relations, debts and war payments. In 1829, Juan Manuel de Rosas became the driving force behind development in Argentina and effectively ruled until 1852, successfully fending off attacks from overseas countries, neighbouring countries and even coup d’états. However, despite his successes in national defence he was reluctant to call an assembly to create a constitution, which in turn led General Justo Jose de Urquiza from Entre Rios to turn against him, defeating Rosas in the Battle of Caseros in 1852 and calling for an assembly, which eventually developed the Argentine Constitution of 1853. Although not immediately accepted by Buenos Aires which left the federation and rejoined several years later, the same constitution is still in use today, albeit with amendments. Bartolome Mitre became the first president of the country at the same time.

Mitre’s rule saw a quick economic rise in the country as massive developments were made in political structuring, agriculture, railways and ports, and foreign investment rose to an all-time high as immigration into the country skyrocketed. Mitre was also able to successfully defeat the armies of Chacho Penaloza and Juan Saa and was able to ally with Uruguay and Brazil against Paraguay in the War of the Triple Alliance, which saw the defeat and death of Paraguayan President Francisco Solano Lopez as well as over 60% of the Paraguayan population, making it one of the most devastating wars in recent history. However, despite his victory, Mitre’s popularity dropped due to his alliance with Brazil, once one of Argentina’s fiercest rivals, and his betrayal of Paraguay, once one of Argentina’s closest economic allies. He was succeeded in 1868 by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento.

Sarmiento hugely promoted public education, telegraphs and cultural heritages and was able to both defeat the last known Caudillos (military dictators) and was able to soften the blow of the Triple Alliance War which had resulted in the deaths of thousands, the outbreak of diseases such as Cholera and Yellow Fever and the subsequent slowdown of productivity in the country. He was succeeded by Nicolas Avellaneda in 1874.

Avellaneda immediately found issues upon taking presidency, having to deal with economic depression, however, he was able to disperse and eradicate these issues by launching the Conquest of the Desert under his war minister Julio Argentino Roca, whom successfully seized land from the natives and vastly reduced their population. In 1880, Carlos Tejedor, governor of Buenos Aires, attempted to declare succession from the republic, but Avellaneda denied them the right and marched troops into the province, defeating Tejedor’s forces and silencing his succession claims. He was succeeded by his war minister, Roca, in 1880.

Roca was elected due to his popularity gained from his successful campaign in the desert and was able to create strong ties with multiple parties as well as installing several measures to keep control of the political scene during the 1880s, earning him the nickname of ‘The Fox’. He helped shape the country’s economy away from extensive farming and towards industrial agriculture, earning the country some of the highest levels of foreign investment throughout South America. Additionally, universal, free and non-religious education was guaranteed for all children but this was opposed by the Roman Catholic Church and saw the Holy See break off all diplomatic relations with the country for years. Finally, he was able to temporarily resolve some border disputes with Chile with the Boundary Treaty of 1881. After he was unable to be constitutionally re-elected in 1888, he was succeeded by Miguel Juarez Celman.

Celman recognized Roca’s control over the political scene and attempted to reduce it, earning his predecessor’s opposition. This opposition combined with the Long Depression’s effects, pushed the Civic Opposition Party to launch a coup d’état known as the Revolution of the Park and although it failed overall in its goals, it did manage to force Celman to resign.

In 1891, Roca made the proposition that the Civic Union elect a vice-president under him until the next elections, this caused a split in the Civic Union into the Radical Civic Union lead by Leandro Alem and the National Civic Union lead by Bartolome Mitre. However, Roca withdrew his offer, revealing it to be a ploy to divide the Civic Union and reduce their power strategically. Alem committed suicide in 1896 and was succeeded by his nephew Hipolito Yrigoyen. At the same time, Celman was succeeded by Carlos Pellegrini whom attempted to revolve the country’s economic crisis, earning him the name “The Storm Sailor”. Although after fearing a wave of opposition from Roca, he withdrew considerably to avoid incurring The Fox’s wrath. Roca became president again in 1898.

20th Century History

Roca’s policy became increasingly aggressive as he had the military or police crackdown on protests, political activists and suspected rebels. However, towards the end of his second presidency (which ended in 1904) he fell terribly ill, passing away in 1914. He was succeeded by Socialist deputy Alfredo Palacios. Palacios became a defender of the people and pushed the creation of laws protecting the common civilian against sexual exploitation, child labour, excessive working hours and the creation of Sunday rest. He was succeeded by Roque Saenz Pena in 1910.

Pena passed the Ley Saenz Pena which made politically voting a mandatory practice for males ages 18 and over, but kept all votes confidential to allow for unbiased elections to take place. He was succeeded by Hipolito Yrigoyen in 1916. However, Yrigoyen did not have a majority in parliament due to only having 45% of the votes and so out of 80 draft laws proposed, only 26 of them were voted through by the conservative majority. Yrigoyen’s party subsequently pushed for opening the polls to the votes of Argentina’s middle class and this lead to the 1918 Estudiantine Movement at the University of Cordoba which in turn lead to the University Reform and spread out throughout South America. The year later, the Argentine Regional Workers’ Federation called for a general strike and triggered a police shooting, ending up in the deaths of 700 and injury to over 4000. General Luis Dellepiane marched on Buenos Aires to restore order, and despite being called on to imitate a coup d’état, he remained loyal to Yrigoyen. Further social movements were repressed similarly with even more aggression and increased deaths.

Meanwhile, the First World War had begun and the United States repeatedly urged Argentina to declare war against the Central Powers. However, Yrigoyen’s government remained vigilantly neutral in the war which allowed them to export goods to Europe, support was garnered through this as well as through their minimum wage and right to strike policies. Even after Germany’s sinking of two Argentinian civilian ships, Argentina only expelled the German Ambassador, Karl von Luxburg, out of the country. Yrigoyen even went so far as to hold a conference of Neutral Powers in Buenos Aires, opposing the US’s attempt at drawing in American states into the war. Yrigoyen was succeeded by his rival, Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear, in 1922. This era saw increased Anarchist activity, especially left-wing activism, and extremism. Extremist leaders such as Severino Di Giovanni pushed violent attacks, shootings and bombings with police and military forces, as well as assassination attempts of political figures (including US President Herbert Hoover during his visit to Argentina in 1928). A failed-but-close assassination attempt occurred on Yrigoyen after his re-election into presidency in 1928. However, he was overthrown in a military coup by Jose Felix Uriburu in 1930.

Uriburu began rapidly cracking down on anarchist and communist groups, orchestrating over two thousand illegal executions including that of Severino Di Giovanni himself in 1931. He also attempted to pushed corporatism into the Argentine Constitution but was seen as a move towards fascism by the conservative backers of the coup, causing them to turn their support to General Agustin P. Justo. Justo fraudulently won the 1932 election and advocated a widespread policy of liberal economic moves that only truly benefitted the nation’s upper classes whilst causing corruption on an industrial and political level and slowing national growth. Three years later, Democrat Senator Lisandro de la Torre launched an investigation into several allegations of corruption with the Argentine Beef Production Industry and subsequently charged Minster of Agriculture Luis Duhau and Minister of Finance Federico Pinedo with fraud charges and political corruption. In the exposition of the investigation, Duhau started a fight among the Senators and his bodyguard attempted to kill De La Torre but ended up shooting De La Torre’s friend, Enzo Bordabehere, instead. De La Torre was able to successfully achieve the imprisonment of the head of the Anglo meat company on corruption charges but sadly committed suicide in 1939. Roberto Ortiz was elected president in 1937 among more claims of fraudulence, but he was succeeded by his Vice President Ramon Castillo, due to fragile health, in 1940.

Upon the rise of World War II, Argentina became split in its views. On one hand, the armed forces and civilians wished to stay neutral due to the fear of the spread of communism, on the other hand, the government authorities wanted to become involved on the side of the allies. At the same time, widespread acknowledgement of the electoral fraud coupled with poor labour rights had damaged the relationship between the government and their people and subsequently in 1943 the GOU (Grupo de Oficiales Unidos) militia group marched upon the Casa Rosada, and, after hours of threats, President Castillo resigned, marking the end of the Infamous Decade. One of the GOU’s leaders, Pedro Pablo Ramirez, took power and broke relations with the Axis Powers but abstained with declaring war, effectively pushing the country to complete neutrality in the war. In 1944, Ramirez was replaced by one of the GOU’s other leaders, Edelmiro Farrell, and initially kept the country neutral as well. However, towards the end of the war and seeing the Allies at near-victory they declared a late war on Germany but didn’t provide any military forces.

Meanwhile, the labour situation had been managed by Juan Domingo Peron and his good treatment of the unions had found him incredible support and popularity. Despite being deposed and detained at the Martin Garcia Island, a large-scale demonstration by his supporters in 1945 forced the governments to both free him and restore him to office. This support additionally pushed him further to win the elections in 1946. His policies attempted to set up more unionized working schemes and government programs, increasing government spending and establishing censorship over 110 publications. Although popular in action, his policies caused inflation to soar and saw the peso lose over 70% of its value between 1948 and 1950. At the same time, he promoted individuals largely based on personal loyalty alone and dismissed, imprisoned and even tortured any opposition to his policies, including many capable advisors. He was deposed during a coup in 1955 and replaced with Eduardo Lonardi.

The next ten years saw repeated coup d’états as power struggles caused the country to fall into turmoil and drove the already low economic growth even lower. Lonardi was first succeeded by Pedro Aramburu in 1955, leaving power only shortly after receiving it. A coup was attempted a year later by two Generals, Juano Jose Valle and Raul Tanco, but failed and were executed among several other military officials and at least twenty civilians. He was succeeded by Arturo Frondizi in 1958. He immediately appointed Alvaro Alsogaray as the Minister of Economy, this saw policies causing the peso to devalue further. Simultaneously he followed a laicist program, which sparked the organization of the far-right Tacuara guerrilla forces. The latter engaged in several anti-Semitic bombings and headed demonstrations against US President Dwight Eisenhower during his visit to Argentina, culminating in the imprisonment of several of their leaders.

The military became involved again in 1962 and forced local elections to occur, culminating in the Chairman of the Senate, Jose Maria Guido, claiming presidency on constitutional grounds. Further struggles with power continued when in 1963, right-wing elements of the Argentine armed forces attempted to take control of the government, but was silenced following the deaths of over twenty people. Arturo Illia took presidency in the same year. In 1965, the Tacuara was formally outlawed and it split with some members on the far right and others on the far left. Illia was ousted in a military coup in 1966 and replaced with General Juan Carlos Ongania. Ongania rapidly made changes to the labour situation, revoking worker’s rights to strike, freezing wages’ increase and devaluing the peso by 40%, as well as the education sector, revoking the 1918 university reform, the latter lead to a number of professors, students and graduates occupying the University of Buenos Aires and subsequently, their removal, expulsion and exile from Argentina in 1966. Under rumours of a possible coup d’état, Ongania dismissed the leaders of the Armed Forces and replaced them in 1968. Ongania also developed a controversial plan to eradicate the shanty towns in the country, which met massive opposition. He was replaced with Alejandro Lanusse in 1971.

For the first time in over a decade, Argentina held general elections and Peron’s protégé, Dr. Hector Campora, was voted in as president, winning 49.5% of the votes and garnering support from the Peronist Youth, Montoneros, FAR and FAP, several guerrilla groups. However, despite his strong policies advocating the redistribution of wealth and investment into the national market, the 1973 oil crisis hit the country hard and caused around 600 social conflicts, strikes and occupations in Campora’s first month of presidency. Only months later, Peron returned and assumed presidency but it was marked with controversy when far-right gunmen dressed in camouflage emerged from his speaking platform and took fire on the crowd during his inauguration speech, killing thirteen and injuring more than three hundred mainly Montoneros and Peronist Youth members. Regardless, Peron still maintained 61.85% of the votes and took presidency with his third vice, Maria Estela Isabel Martinez de Peron, as his Vice President.

Meanwhile, extremist groups such as the Triple A had continued to threaten public order through violent acts, and, after the assassination of CGT Trade-Union’s Secretary General Jose Ignacio Rucci by the Montoneros, the government began releasing multiple emergency decrees allowing them the authority to deal with violence and imprison individuals indefinitely without charge. The following elections, Peron won 61.9% of the votes once more and his wife once again took the position of Vice President, but he died shortly afterwards and his wife then took over as President in 1974. However, she was inexperienced with politics and her administration was further threatened by economic downfall through a slower GDP and increased inflation as well as terrorist activity and inter-party struggles. Subsequently, she found herself removed from office via a military coup lead by Lieutenant General Jorge Rafael Videla in 1976. Videla formally assumed the position of President only days later.

Terrorist organizations had been growing increasingly active since Peron’s return, but following the military coup their activity skyrocketed and frequent bombings, kidnappings and assassinations began to occur. Videla himself was the target of three assassination attempts by the ERP (Ejercito Revolucionario del Pueblo or People’s Revolutionary Army) and the Montoneros over the course of a single year. This increased activity forced his hand and he rapidly began to push police and military into the cities. It’s estimated at this time that as many as twenty thousand people ‘disappeared’ whilst in police or military custody, with around half of those being members of the Montoneros and the ERP. A year later in 1978, Videla’s regime rejected the binding Report and Decision of the Court of Arbitration and started Operation Soberania in order to invade the islands of Picton, Nueva and Lennox, starting a conflict with Chile over disputes with the islands once again. However, full scale war was prevented after the Pope’s representative, Antonio Samore, conducted mediation talks between the countries. He stepped down and handed power over to Roberto Viola in 1981.

Shortly after Viola became president he appointed Lorenzo Sigaut as his Finance Minister and Sigaut began to implement policies which abandoned the sliding exchange rate mechanism and further devalued the peso, triggering a recession. Viola was subsequently ousted by a military coup in later on in the same year by Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Lieutenant General Leopoldo Galtieri, whom assumed presidency. Galtieri was initially supported by the United States as ‘a bulwark against communism’, but found widespread controversy when his forces invaded the Falkland Islands, a territory of the United Kingdom, which the United States supported and had been long-standing allies with. Galtieri similarly found initial support for his invasion of the Falkland Islands by the Argentine populace, but before long, the populace realized that Galtieri’s regime was still the oppressive one once ruled by Videla and Viola. Galtieri’s government thought that the UK would not respond militarily, and since the United States wouldn’t interfere through their statements supporting Galtieri, the UK attempted diplomatic negotiations.

However, the negotiations lead nowhere and the UK Government headed by Margaret Thatcher moved to retake the islands by force. Despite having a distinctive geological advantage with superior numbers, Argentina’s military was decimated by the British Army and Navy’s superior training and technology and the Falkland Islands were reclaimed by the UK in under two months in 1982. Galtieri found himself removed as a result of Argentina’s thoroughly humiliating defeat and in 1983 he was imprisoned. Civil rights charges and human rights violations were brought against him and it was recommended that he be stripped of rank, dismissed and executed via firing squad. In 1985, he was cleared of all civil rights charges but a year later in 1986 he was found guilty of mishandling the war and sentenced to imprisonment, and although he, the Air Force and Navy Commanders-in-Chief attempted to repeal these sentences, they failed and all three were sentenced to twelve years in prison. However, they, alongside 37 other officers, were pardoned by President Menem in 1989.

Meanwhile, the country had finally redeveloped democracy and Raul Alfonsin was constitutionally elected by 52% of the votes, beginning his 6-year term in 1983. He was able to successfully conduct the Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1984 between Chile and Argentina and this in turn re-established the roots of the Mercosur Trade Bloc. His administration went on to establish civilian control of the armed forces, consolidate democratic institutions and to account for those whom ‘disappeared’ during the Militia’s rule between 1976 and 1983. Additionally, Alfonsin was able to reduce over 50% of corruption in public offices, but struggled with friction between the government and military. Coupled with the failure to deal with economic issues, Alfonsin stepped down six months early and Carlos Saul Menem became the new President in 1989.

Menem began to overhaul Argentine domestic policy and rapidly privatized multiple industries which had, ironically, been previously nationalized by his predecessor, Peron. When Congress was unable to reach a common consensus on his proposed reforms, Menem didn’t hesitate to issue emergency decrees to help him push these policies. However, in 1994 the constitution was reformed and he found his ability to do this had become limited, but despite this setback, he was able to win the next elections with 50% of the vote in 1995 by making a pact with the opposing Radical Party. This in turn saw the rise of the moderate-left FrePaSo coalition. However, despite these incredible developments, Argentina’s economy struggled due to years of military dictatorships preceding its democratic process and by the late 1990s the country had entered another recession. In 1999, Fernando de la Rua became president.

21st Century History

De la Rua set about making spending cuts, provincial revenue-sharing reforms and flexibility of the labour market. These changes were aimed at increasing foreign investment and revenue so that the public debt would not have to be defaulted on. However, towards the end of 2001, the International Monetary Fund pushed the country to deal with its debt and this in turn forced the value of the Peso to be dropped considerably. People feared that it would be devalued further and so massive withdrawals began to occur as capital flight swept across the country, the banks of the country rapidly realized they were sliding down a steep slope and so Domingo Cavello, the Minister of Economy, passed regulations that severely limited withdrawals, effectively freezing the bank accounts of the masses country-wide. This in turn triggered widespread rioting and dozens of deaths and as De La Rua’s administration collapsed and saw his resign as well as those of his ministers. Adolfo Rodriguez Saa was elected by the National Congress to finish De La Rua’s term but he resigned just a week later.

In 2002, Eduardo Duhalde was elected by the National Congress to be president. Duhalde faced a further 29% devaluation of the Peso and the abandonment of the Dollar peg within the first few months of his presidency. Then the national currency depreciated further and by the middle of the year the currency was worth only 25% of its former value. Protests became commonplace by the unemployed piqueteros and the middle class cacerolazos but unlike prior government, Duhalde used a light touch to deal with the protests, minimizing violence and assigned Roberto Lavagna as his Minister of Economy, through Lavagna’s strategies, inflation was brought under control and a year later, he called for elections.

In 2003, Nestor Kirchner came into power and immediately set about overturning controversial amnesty laws, allowing for prosecution of the 1976-1983 dictatorship, whilst changing the leadership of the armed forces and restructuring of the foreign debt.

These measures saw a good economic growth and as a result he was re-elected for President in 2007. However, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, wife to Nestor Kirchner, took over the presidency of her husband less than a year later, but kept him close professionally and his influence was still incredibly visible, even to the point where their joint rule was comparable to a diarchy (where two individuals rule jointly over a nation). Cristina Fernandez proposed a new taxation system for agricultural exports but found herself and her government locked out of the sector for the attempt, culminating in the system being rejected by the Senate.

In 2010, Nestor Kirchner passed away of heart failure and this saw a dramatic change in Cristina Fernandez’s government style, favouring The Campora, a non-violent successor to the Montoneros, led by her son, Maximo Kirchner. Cristina Fernandez was re-elected as President in 2011.

Wording

Phonetic

English

Hola

Holl-ah

Hello/Hi

Adios

Ah-dee-oss

Good Bye!

Habla usted Ingles / Espanol

Hah-blah oo-stead In-gulls / Ess-span-yoll

Do you speak English / Spanish?

Mi nombre es…

Mee nom-breh ess

My name is…

Me pueden ayudar?

Meh pweh-dehn ah-yoo-dah

Can you help me?

Estoy buscando…

Ess-toy boos-can-doh

I’m looking for…

Si / No

See / Noh

Yes / No

Gracias

Grah-see-as

Mr / Mrs / Miss

Hoy / Ahora

Hoi / Ah-hoar-ah

Today / Now

Hoi / Ah-hoar-ah

Mah-nar-nar / Aay-err

Tomorrow / Yesterday

Este / Que / Aqui / Hay

Ess-tey / Kay / Ah-kee / Haay

This / That / Here / There

Phrases

Above are a few common Spanish phrases to help you get around.

Languages

Spanish is the most frequent language spoken in Argentina and is spoken by almost every Argentine but the dialect is slightly different from that spoken in Spain.

However, many other languages are spoken in Argentina including English (42.5%), Italian (4%), Arabic (2.5%), German (1.6%), Yiddish (0.8%), Guarani (0.8%), Catalan (0.7%), Quechua (0.3%), Wichi (0.2%), Aymara (0.1%), Welsh (0.1%) and interspersed French throughout the region. Many other tribal languages are also present.

Religion

Although historically Argentina has been a majorly Roman Catholic Christian country, the Constitution doesn’t actually enforce an official religion and, furthermore, it actually guarantees freedom of religion. Around 77% of all Argentinians are Catholic with a further 11% Atheist or Agnostic, 9% Evangelical, 1% Jehovah’s Witnesses, 1% Mormons and the remaining 1% are of other religions, mainly Judaism, Islam and Buddhism.

Museums, Galleries & Architecture

Argentina’s architecture comprises a multitude of various styles, most prominently; Indigenous, Colonial, Renaissance and Modern.

The country’s indigenous architectural style includes sites such as Taktillakta at the foot of the Aconquija Mount and the pre-Inca fort in Pucara de Tilcara, Jujuy Province. Here, ruins of a long-forgotten native town, built in the form of huts in close-proximity to one another to form seemingly-random rows of houses, often interlocked and interspersed, and built to last.

Colonial Era buildings see a pre-renaissance style with basic shapes cut out into square buildings. The style is simplistic and straightforward, emphasizing functionality and practicality over aesthetic appeal and often being attached directly to the next building across to allow for possible alterations to be made in the design in case of a merge. This is most visible in the Jesuit Block in Cordoba and of architecture in much of Salta City.

The Renaissance Era saw the rise of structures with a vastly improved and detailed aesthetic appeal, specialized to be eye catching to invoke some forlorn aura of mystery. The style emphasizes a call back to pre-medieval era designs with Roman-style columns and imagery carved into the building materials. You can view styles such as Neo-Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical forms on the Church of San Ignacio Mini in the Misiones Province, the Colon Theatre in Buenos Aires and the NH Gran Hotel in Mar del Plata.

Modern styles are most visibly incorporated in the Alas Building, the Catalinas Norte and the Kavanagh Building in Buenos Aires and these include the Rationalist, Postmodern and the Art Deco styles respectively. The styles feature a range of stylistic effects including a heavier use of glass and windows as well as generally higher-rising structures.

Clothing, Dress Style & Etiquette

Today, a wide majority of Argentinians wear modern western-style clothes, but traditionally the clothing style varied greatly and saw European (mainly Spanish) inspired clothing, adapted to the climate of the country.

Men traditionally wore Gaucho (cowboy) outfits of various sorts, these would include a wide-brimmed hat, a poncho (a large cloth draped over the body) and a loose pair of trousers designed for flexibility tucked into shoes, as well as Bombachas (trousers made from strong black cloth). Shoes tend to be made out of strong canvas and rope. Accessories may include the Faja (a brightly coloured waist band worn over the shirt) and Rastras (leather belts).

Women tend to wear long, colourful dresses of various styles but sometimes may wear a long skirt with a loose shirt instead.

Literature, Poetry, Music & Dance

Argentina’s literature historically began in 1550 with the works of Matias Rojas de Oquendo and Pedro Gonzalez de Prado. Prior to this, all stories, tales and records were passed down through generations between the natives through oral retellings. However, Argentine literature didn’t truly kick off until El Matadero was written by Esteban Echeverria in the mid-19th Century. Other notable 19th Century authors include Jose Hernandez and Domingo Faustino Sarmiento and the content widely focuses around Argentina’s independence of Spain as well as the bloody confrontations between the people and their government.

In the 20th Century the tales slowly began developing further towards a crypto-anarchistic view as conflicts between the government and the people became more frequent and escalated into hundreds of deaths. Notable authors from the era include Leopold Lugones, Ricardo Guiraldes, Alfonsa Storni Julio Cortazar and Jorge Luis Borges.

Calendar & Events

The 1st of January marks the country’s first holiday: New Years’ Day. Then for a couple of days in late February to Early March, Carnival and Shrove Tuesday are celebrated respectively. This is closely followed by the March Equinox and then Memorial Day in the middle of March and on the 24th of March respectively.

The Day of the Veterans is celebrated on the 2nd of April, then towards the middle of April several days are celebrated in a row including Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Action Day for Tolerance and Respect between People. On May 1st and 2nd, May Day and Bridge Public Holiday are celebrated respectively, then on the 25th of the same month, National Day is celebrated. About a month later, two days, Flag Day and the June Solstice, are celebrated on the 20th and in the middle of June respectively.

This is followed by Independence Day and the End of Ramadan being celebrated on the 9th and the 28th of July respectively, and then San Martin Day on the 18th of August. Then in the middle of September, the September Equinox is celebrated. Shortly afterwards, the Hebrew Holiday of Rosh Hashana is celebrated.

The Hebrew holidays culminate in the celebration of Yom Kippur on the 4th of October. Then on the 13th of October the country shows its multi-nationalism through the Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity, followed by the Muslim holiday of Muharramn in late October to early November. On the 24th of November, National Sovereignty Day is celebrates and as December rolls around a string of Christian holidays takes place with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on the 8th, the December Solstice somewhere in the middle, Christmas Day on the 25th, Boxing Day on the 26th and New Years’ Eve on the 31st.

By far, Buenos Aires is the biggest party city in the country and there is no club more vocal about it than Million. The club is featured in the middle of a converted mansion and incorporates multiple sweeping staircases lit by candles. The club tends to attract lots of tourists as well as many locals and serves both drinks and food.

Meanwhile, Ushuaia has The Galway, proclaimed to be the world’s southernmost Irish bar. The bar is fairly cheap and attracts all sorts of visitors. Perfect if you’re looking to relax in your evening and enjoy nice views of the Beagle Channel which connects South America to the cold shores and reaches of Antarctica.

If you’re looking for a little more rock n’ roll in your life then maybe consider the Hard Lomo Rock, Mendoza’s Hard Rock Café. On Thursday nights there is an open microphone session and instruments allowing anyone to step up and play as they wish, best of all there’s no dress code and on weekends live shows are frequent!

Back in Puerto Iguazu, the Cuba Libre Bar fuels the fire as blitzing footsteps blaze across the dancefloor to the beat of Latin American music. If you’re someone looking to keep on your toes and blast out a lot of energy as you synchronize to the music and rapidly pick up the pace then the Cuba Libre Bar is for you!

The Borges y Alvarez is El Calafate’s premier chill-bar. It incorporates a nice restaurant and a bookshop in one, allowing you to read a bit of literature while you taste a bit of wine and sink into the nightlife atmosphere surrounded by good friends.

Money

Argentina uses the Peso as its currency and this can be divided down into 100 Centavos. The currency uses the international currency code ARS and ARS 1 is equal to $0.12 or £0.07.

Currently circulating coins of the Argentinian Peso are available in 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 Centavo variants as well as 1, 2 and 5 Peso variants.
Bank notes are available in 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 Peso variants.

Economy

Argentina’s biggest industry is in its Service sector which in total contributes over 60% of its annual GDP, these include the telecommunications, tourism, insurance, real estate, transportation and social sectors.

Additionally, the Agricultural centre of Argentina is huge, accounting for around 9% of annual GDP, as the country is one of the world’s biggest agricultural producers. Produce varies and may include beef, grapes, maize, soybeans, sunflower seeds, yerba mate, wheat, squash, sorghum, honey and citrus fruits. Biodiesel is also making notable numbers and is growing at a faster rate every year, making over $2 Billion in exports in 2011 alone.

The country also exports a lot of its natural resources, especially gas and petrol which account for around 4% of the country’s annual GDP. Exports also include a variety of minerals and metals such as copper, magnesium, tungsten, zinc, gold, silver, uranium, sulphur, lead and borate.

Other large scales include the Banking sector and the Industry sector, the latter of which contributes around 16% of the country’s annual GDP and has strong ties into Argentina’s agricultural sector. The main produce is in glass, plastics, lumber, tobacco, printed media, apparel, leather, furniture, recorded media, textiles, tires and cement.

Banking

Although once very sketchy, today the Banking sector is known to be very strong and since 2006 the banks have been improving drastically and rapidly. Banks behave very much like their western counterparts do, offering a duo of accounts: Current Accounts and Savings Accounts. The former offers quicker access and unlimited withdrawals and the latter gives a higher interest rate but may limit one’s ability to withdraw on-the-fly.

Wealth Tax scales according to one’s available wealth and may range from 0.5% to 2.5% of the wealth available. Value-Added Tax is applied at a flat rate of 21% on most products. Inheritance Tax is applied on all transferred items at a rate of 4% when the combined value of said items is over ARS 3 million.

Corporate Tax is applied at 35% on all corporate sales as a flat rate whilst Stamp Tax is applied on the value of all real property at a rate of 1.5% and may be applied to vehicles and other assets. Bank Transaction Tax is applied at a rate of 0.6% on all transactions. Finally, Income Tax is applied on all money earned for work performed inside of the country and is scaled according to how much is earned.

Although mainly influenced by Spanish origins, Argentina’s cuisine combines a blend of Mediterranean, European and Indigenous varieties and sees a wide range of ingredients from all across the country. Argentina’s national dish is Asado (barbequed meat) which is often accompanied with a social gathering or event of sorts. The country’s cuisine can be broken down into four main areas; Central, North West, North East and South.

Central Argentinian Cuisine has been largely inspired by dishes from the Middle-East, Switzerland and Italy and Germany and subsequently see a range of sauces, sausage dishes, chicken and meat courses, stews and fritters among others. Common dishes include Spaghetti, Gnocchi, Lasagne, Achuras (Cows innards), Morcilla (Blood Sausage), Lomo (Tenderloin) and Choripan (Pork or Lamb sausages in a sandwich).

North Western Argentinian Cuisine sees more Indigenous influences and as a result the dishes of the region typically include more vegetable, cereals and maize (corn). Dishes may include Humita (corn, onions and spices kneaded into dough and boiled in corn husks), Tamales (corn-based dough boiled in corn husks), Empanadas (Meat or Vegetable pasties) and Locro (thick stew made from corn, potatoes, beans and cucurbita soup).

North Eastern Argentinian Cuisine tends to veer closer to native tastes as well with many dishes coming from the Guarani tribe and focusing more on a seafood diet. Meals may include Dorado, Surubi, Silverside, Boga and Pacu (all types of fish), as well as Cassava, Papaya, fruit jams and Yerba Mate which may find their way into dishes such as Chipa (Cassava and Cheese Bread) and Terere (cold water mixed with Yerba Mate, ice and various other herbs such as mint, lemongrass as well as lime and orange juice).

Southern Argentinian Cuisine also include lots of seafood but puts an increased amount of focus on berries, livestock (mainly sheep) and wild meat (mainly boar, stag and pheasant). Dishes often include seafood such as salmon, squid, sea snails, spider crabs and trout as well as berries such as cherries, strawberries, elderberries, bilberries and rosa mosqueta as well as chocolate. Cuisine may include Argentine Chorizos (pork sausages), Curanto (beef, pork, lamb, chicken, sweet potatoes, squashes, cream, pease, cheese, apples and/or potatoes placed on a hot stone that has been dug around a metre and a half into the ground.)

VISA Requirements

Passport holders from the following may stay in Argentina for up to 90 days without a Visa:

Passport holders of the following may stay in Argentina for up to 90 days without a Visa by first paying the reciprocity fee online:

Australia

Canada

United States

Passport holders of the following may stay in Argentina for up to 30 days without a Visa:

Jamaica

Malaysia

Passport holders of the following may stay in Argentina for varying amounts of time if they use a Travel Certificate issued by Argentina instead of a passport:

Kosovo

Nauru

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Taiwan

Tonga

Tuvalu

Health Care

Health Care in Argentina can be divided down into three main types: Public, Private and Social Security, each one financed through their own system. Around 8% of Argentina’s GDP is spent annually on Health Care.

The majority of the Public Sector is both funded and managed by Obras Sociales and they have over 300 institutions for medical care open in the country and roughly own about 75% of all health resources in the entirety of South America. The Private Sector is comprised of over 200 organizations and is funded through over 2 million Argentinian customers. Finally, the Social Security system tends to fall under the control of local governments and can see a little to a lot of cover from those bodies.

Transportation

Argentina’s road system is extensive and spans over 230 thousand kilometres in length across the entirety of the country, the roads, however, see less than a third of themselves being paved. Today, over 9 million vehicles use these roads.

The rail system is also incredibly extensive and sees several systems in place including the Long-distance networks managed by Ferrocentral, Ten Patagonico, Ferrobaires and Trenes de Buenos Aires, the high-speed rail line linking Buenos Aires, Rosario and Cordoba, the high-speed rail line linking Buenos Aires to Mendoza, the high-speed rail line between Buenos Aires and Mar del Plata, the freight service lines and the tourist railway lines such as the Old Patagonian Express, the Train of the End of the World, the Tierra del Fuego, the Tren Historico de Bariloche and the Ten a las Nubes. It’s also important to mention that international lines link Argentina to Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Every capital city in the region has its own airport and there are a number of additional airports in areas such as Bariloche and El Calafate, where tourists are more numerous. The national airline is Aerolineas Argentinas.

The nation has a number of waterways but these are not usually used for passenger transportation apart from the boats that cross from the Rio de la Plata, Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento and Montevideo, Uruguay. It’s mainly used for merchant marine, as is most of the sea vessels which include 137 ships that are at least a kiloton in weight. Of these, 47 are petroleum tankers, 21 are bulk cargo, 21 are standard cargo, 12 are liquefied gas tankers, 12 are combined passenger/cargo, 8 are container cargo, 8 are roll-on/roll-off cargo and 8 are chemical tankers.

CITY
Buenos Aires
PHONE
+54 11 4312 6901
FAX
+54 11 4312 7857
WEBSITE
http://www.buenosaires.um.dk
EMAIL
bueamb@um.dk
OFFICE HOURS
Monday to Thursday: 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Friday: 8:00 am to 1:00 pm
DETAILS
The Faroe Islands and Greenland are part of the Kingdom of Denmark. As a main principle, the Danish Constitution stipulates that the foreign and security interests for all parts of the Kingdom of Denmark are the responsibility of the Danish government.

There are currently over 9 million land lines and 50 million mobile phones active in the country, connected via a domestic satellite system with 40 earth stations. The country makes around 1.7 billion calls a month, 1.3 billion of which are local. The main companies in the region are the Spanish-owned Telefonica, the Italian-owned Telecom Argentina and several other smaller groups.

Internet

Around 33%, or 27 million members, of the population are online on 12 million PCs and there are around 1.7 million domain names registered as well as over 6 million Internet Hosts. Once only dial-up, nowadays most users are on Broadband connections and several ISPs, such as Arnet and Flash, exist. The country’s top level domain is .ar. It should be mentioned that the courts in Argentina routinely block websites which are illegal or controversial, these are often in attempts to improve public safety (such as blocking child pornography) but also censors websites and blogs exposing corruption in the Argentinian government or judicial organizations.

Communications

There are over 1400 radio stations in Argentina, around 260 of which are AM and the remaining are FM. The stations are very western in style and may opt for focuses on news, debates and sports. Amateur radio is very popular and widespread in the country as well.

Argentina’s TV stations are numerous (over 40) but there are five major networks, each capital having at least one local station, with the highest accessibility rates of South America. There are roughly 12.5 million TV sets owned in Argentina.

Weather & Climate

Argentina sees a variety of climate types due to its large size combined with a single sea front coastline. The climate types can be broken up best into North-East, North-West, South-West, South-East and Central South regions.

The North-Eastern regions of Argentina tend to veer towards a sub-tropical weather system and in some areas, temperatures can reach as high as 35 degrees Centigrade (95 Fahrenheit) while other areas can be as cool as 0 degrees Centigrade (32 Fahrenheit). Rainfall can vary over the course of the year but tends to be very high, with the region getting as much as 1800mm of rainfall a year.

The North-West has warm weather as well and may see temperatures rising up to 35 degrees Centigrade (95 Fahrenheit) in the summer (sometimes even topping 45 degrees Centigrade or 113 Fahrenheit) and dropping as low as -8 degrees Centigrade (17.6 Fahrenheit) in the winter. Rainfall is plentiful despite the hot conditions though and up to 1200mm of rain may fall annually.

The South-Western regions have a much more arid climate and may receive less than 200mm of rainfall a year while temperatures may soar up as high as 45 degrees Centigrade (113 Fahrenheit). Conversely, temperatures in some areas (mainly at higher altitudes) may drop as low as -20 degrees Centigrade (-4 Fahrenheit) and may receive in excess of 1000mm of rain annually.

South-Eastern regions have longer summers than the other regions but can also see over 1200mm of rain annually. Temperatures are comparable to European countries, rising up as high as 32 degrees Centigrade (89.6 Fahrenheit) in the summer and dropping as low as -5 degrees Centigrade (23 Fahrenheit) in the winter.

Meanwhile in Central-South regions, temperatures are typically much colder than the rest of Argentina as one would expect, falling down sometimes as low as -35 degrees Centigrade (-31 Fahrenheit) and rarely rising up above 30 degrees Centigrade (86 Fahrenheit) even in the height of summer. Precipitation is additionally high, with up to 4000mm a year, albeit most of this falling as snow in the colder areas of the region.

Holidays

The Lao Lao Resort & Spa is located ideally in Bariloche and features beautiful views of the Andes Mountain Range and lakes Moreno & Nahuel Huapi right from your windowsill. Guests have exclusive access to the marina, fitness centre, swimming pools, an 18-hole golf course, a modern spa and a beach.
Meanwhile in the Peninsula Valdez, the Estancia Rincon Chico has a much more rustic design and offers a clean-cut back-to-nature type experience. Each room features on-suite bathrooms with a tub as well as double or twin beds and guests may experience the nearby marine wildlife centre.

In the Iguazu National Park right in viewing distance from the falls you’ll find the park’s only hotel: the Sheraton Iguazu Resort & Spa. The Resort is set in the middle of the tropical jungle paradise for a true deep-nature experience and visitors have access to the spa, swimming pool, bar, restaurant and the park itself.
Just outside of the park but still inside of Iguazu, the Panoramic Hotel finds itself surrounded by beautiful gardens as well as the local Iguazu River. The hotel is actually situated on a site at the dividing line between Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil and inhabitants have views of the river itself and the falls nearby while they enjoy a cold drink at the bar or a dip in the pool.

The Emperador Hotel is located in Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina, and is located in the exquisitely elegant Recoleta district. Guests may experience the hotel’s top-quality spa and heated pools before nipping back to their room to gain access to their own minibar, TV, bathroom and Wi-Fi.

Children do not require any additional documents or measures to enter a country that an adult would not require.

All dogs and cats will require the following:

A rabies vaccination at least 30 days before, but not more than 12 months, to entry

A Veterinary Certificate for Argentina signed and completed by a USDA or CFIA accredited veterinarian

A copy of the rabies certificate

A health certificate issued within 10 days of travel

It should be noted that the airline must notify the station manager at the point of entry and will be examined at the point of entry in Argentina. A $25 customs fee will apply.

Although it’s not enforced, it’s recommended that you microchip your cat or dog prior to travelling.

There are three main levels of education in Argentina, these include Primary, Secondary and Higher Education.

Primary School students begin at the age of 6 and will complete grades one through six before graduating and moving into Secondary School.

Secondary School is broken up into two parts, Years 1 to 3 (Ciclo Basico) and Years 4 to 6 (Ciclo Orientado). The first three years tend to use the same subjects used across the school system, while the second three years may vary and include subjects such as Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Sport, Arts, Dance, Design and more. An extra year is available in some schools which grant a professional title in a specialized field such as Electricity, Construction, Mechanics, Agriculture and more.

Higher education is offered in the form of Tertiary Education level degrees lasting between 1 and 3 years, University level degrees lasting from 4 to 6 years and Post-graduate level degrees lasting 1 to 3 years. All public universities offer these three types and are completely tuition-fee free and open to anyone, but it’s important to note that transportation and material costs often have to be paid by students.

Typically all applicants for positions in Argentina will require a Masters or Bachelor’s Degree in Education or in a subject relevant to their field of teaching as well as a Teaching Qualification. Applicants will additionally require at least two years of experience teaching and must be native speakers of English and be trained in a Western Country (US, UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand or South Africa).

It should be noted that although TEFL and similar certifications are not considered to be full teaching qualifications on their own, having one in addition to a teaching qualification will vastly improve your chances of being placed. Candidates with international experience may also have increased chances of being placed.

Prices are comparable to western countries with a meal in a restaurant setting you back around ARS 81 ($10 or £5.80), a litre of water costing around ARS 7.30 ($0.90 or £0.50), a litre of milk costing about ARS 11 ($1.30 or £0.80), 500g of bread costing ARS 13 ($1.60 or £0.90) and 12 eggs setting you back ARS 19 ($2.30 or £1.30).

Luxuries are equally comparable, with a pack of cigarettes costing ARS 16 ($2 or £1.20), a litre of beer costing about ARS 26 ($3.20 or £1.90) and a bottle of mid-range wine costing ARS 47 ($5.80 or £3.40).

However, rent is far cheaper, with a 1 bedroom apartment in the city centre costing ARS 3600 ($440 or £260), outside the city centre it costs a bit less at ARS 2800 ($350 or £200). Meanwhile a 3 bedroom apartment outside the city costs around ARS 5300 ($650 or £380) and inside the city centre you’d be looking more at ARS 7100 ($870 or £510).

If you like feeling the waves beneath your feet and the ocean breeze on your skin, then you’ll love the Yacht Club Argentino in Buenos Aires. The club takes on individuals of all skill calibres and regularly organizes sailing events and opportunities.

Known as Club Atletico Belgrano, Belgrano Football Club was founded over a hundred years ago and takes its colours from Argentina’s flag. The club has won the Cordoba league three times in a row, the Federacion Cordobesa de Futbol’s championship as well as many others, basing their home in El Gigante stadium.

If you’re looking to learn some new dance moves and burn off some excess energy, the Salsa Dance Courses in Buenos Aires is for you! The courses are led by several private dancer tutors of Cuban origins whom allow you to tailor your programme to match your level of expertise and schedule accordingly.

How about a round of Golf? If you’re aiming for that elusive hole-in-one or are aiming to down a birdie before lunch, the Chapelco Golf Resort may just be able to accommodate you! The club caters for players of all skill levels and has been built to USGA standards, designed by Jack Nicklaus and his son while incorporating an awe-inspiring view of the Andes Mountain Range that surrounds the club.

La Providencia Resort & Country Club is for those with high-class tastes and offers an incredibly sociable community focused around golf, polo, watersports (both motorised and non) as well as general village society. No matter who you are, we’re sure you’ll feel welcome in La Providencia Resort & Country Club.

The country’s biggest issues are in Gang-related Activity, Human Trafficking, Terrorism and Corruption.

Human Trafficking is incredibly high with crimes related to this activity rated as the third highest in the world. The crime is punishable by law and typically sees penalties between 3 and 15 years in prison. The majority of victims are from other surrounding South American countries including Bolivia, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Colombia and Uruguay as well as Argentina itself.

Terrorism and Gang-related Activity often go hand in hand and are the result of the fallout after the various oppressive military regimes in the 70s and 80s, these are often brought about by the remnants of activist groups turned guerrilla militia forces.

The country’s corrupt roots lie, again, back in the days of the oppressive military regimes, and sadly have not changed all that much. To this day there is corruption involved with government forces through money laundering, ties with the drug cartels and police brutality and bribery.